Life Out Of Morganville
by dodgygirl98
Summary: When Shane and Claire leave Morganville they are faced with many problems about living out of MV. Though, they'll get through it together. Won't they? Read and review please. Set after bitter blood. First ever story.
1. Chapter 1

**Claire POV-**

"I can't believe it," I whispered.

"Believe it," Shane spoke quietly.

"We're actually leaving," I said, almost not believing myself. I never thought that this day would come. Shane and I were leaving Morganville. Permanently. Amelie had granted us both permission to leave.

I had been accepted in MIT so we were both heading to Boston, we had rented a small apartment 15 minutes away from the university where I would be studying. Shane had gotten a job at a barbeque place, similar to where he currently worked. All the details had been sorted and tomorrow we would actually be going.

Shane's arms wrapped around me creating a safe and comfortable cocoon. I leaned my head back on his chest. There was just one thing that I was worried about. Michael and Eve.

My newly married friends have had relationship troubles. Amelie, the towns founder had ordered Michael to divorce Eve on account of the fact that he was a vampire. What worried me even more was that when he refused she had told him that she would think of a suitable punishment for him.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" I asked Shane, wanting his voice and words to comfort me.

"They're committed to each other," he said, knowing who I was asking about, but avoiding the question. "I know that. What about everyone else?" Everyone else being the people who were against their marriage, which was a significant number. "They'll work something out. Not many people had complaints before they were married, what's changed now that they are?" Exactly what all of us had questioned. We had been told that now that they were married it was set in stone, it was noteworthy. They were a single entity and people saw that as wrong given the species difference.

I sighed and Shane turned me around from where I was standing staring out of my window, to give me a small kiss on my lips before he pulled me towards the door. "It's our last day. Let's spend it having fun with our friends instead of worrying, okay?" Shane asked, I was glad that he did, otherwise I would have missed out on spending our last hours in this town with our friends.

"Hey! There you are!" Eve called out as we descended down the stairs hand in hand. She had just walked out from the kitchen. "I was about to see where you were, getting busy upstairs were you?" she asked in a joking manner, she had her eyebrow raised and laughed. "Bite me," Shane replied. "We were just doing some last minute packing," I jumped in to diffuse them. Eve sighed and pulled us in a tight hug. "I can't believe you're going," she said, though it was muffled as we were all squashed together in a hug.

"Hey," Shane said in a soft tone. "We'll be back to visit." It was really sweet the way he said it, sometimes he can be so charming. "Yeah," I said in support. "So much, you'll get sick of the sight of us." She pulled us even closer. I held on to her as it must be hard for her, it would just be her and Michael in the house, we won't be there to support them. "We'll be back in a few years, when I've finished college." She let us go. I saw her swallow. Hard. Just then Michael walked in from the kitchen to tell us that dinner was almost ready. We walked over to sit at the table. "Yeah, I suppose." Eve said when we were sat at the table.

After we had eaten we all sat on the couch and watched movies and had fun. It was normal and totally the best way to spend our evening. Shane commented every now and then, Eve gave sarcastic replies then Michael and I, the only sane ones, would step in. Just the way that it had always been. Perfect.


	2. Chapter 2

**Shane POV-**

I woke up at around 5, my arms wrapped around Claire. I smiled. She looked so beautiful in the morning with a serious case of bed head! She was lying on her back and I looked down and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead, her eyelashes fluttered and I gently whispered in her ear, "Wake up beautiful, we're gonna miss our flight." She opened her eyes, yawned and sat up, realising that I called her beautiful she blushed.

"Today's the day," she said as if she thought that it would never come, she almost seemed that she was dreading it. "You do want to go, don't you?" I asked, not understanding why she seemed to be fearing going. "I mean, I do. I'm finally getting out of here, this hellhole, even if it's only for a couple of years," I told her. She looked at me as though she was trying to figure my thoughts out. After a minute she said, "Of course I do, this is my dream, I'm finally going to MIT," she sounded as though she was lying.

"Why are you lying to me?" I asked, really getting frustrated, why won't she tell me the truth? "I'm not," Claire snapped, defending herself. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I put my hands on either side of her face and lifted it so she was looking into my eyes. "Tell me," I pleaded. If she was worried about something I would rather she told me instead of over thinking it, she had a tendency to do that. "I'm scared," she spoke so quietly I barely heard it. It felt like my heart ripped when she said that, she shouldn't be scared, I'm here to protect her, love her.

"What of? Leaving?" I guessed.

"No, I'm scared for Michael and Eve. Not too long ago she was in the hospital, what if there are other people who really don't like the idea of them being married and want to-" I interrupted her, "Michael's here. He won't let her out of her sight, she'll be safe. I promise." I kissed her forehead then leaned forward for her lips, but she stopped me. "Shane. What if, what if I'm not good enough? Here I am, but in MIT there are so many gifted people, what if I'm not good enough, or fast enough? What if I'm just average?" Her eyes pleaded for me to understand, and I did. I knew what it was like to feel as though you weren't good enough. I always felt as though I wasn't good enough for Claire.

"You are good enough. In fact, you're so much more better than good enough. You were accepted, that shows how good you are," I said in an attempt to comfort her. She didn't look as though she was comforted.

"There's something else. I need to know before we go. Are you only coming with me because you don't trust me?" She looked apologetic, though I did understand why she had asked. Not too long ago I thought that she was with my best friend Michael behind my back, but I was wrong. I did trust her but before I was just so insecure and believed a lie because of my own stupid trust issues. "No. I'm coming because we finally have the chance to get out of here. Together. You're following your dream and I'm following mine," I said.

"What's your dream?" Claire asked me, as if she didn't know.

"A chance for us to live a normal life. Together. Now can I please have a kiss?" She smiled and I could tell that she wasn't worried anymore. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine; the kiss was passionate and seemed to last forever. She pulled back and I groaned. Her kiss took my breath away and left me blank, like they always do.

Just then the alarm clock went off, I groaned again. Claire smirked slapped the alarm clock and the shrill alarm stopped. "Race you to the shower," she said as she jumped up and ran to the bathroom.

I jumped out of her bed and ran to the bathroom, but I was too late as she was already in and had started h shower. _Dammit _I thought. I was about to walk to my room when Michael came out of his and called my name. "What's up?" I replied.

"Me and Eve won't be there anymore," he stalled, not getting to the point.

"I know that." I said. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Shane. Man, this is hard. What I'm trying to say is that, we're gonna miss you both. Look after her, okay?" I wasn't the only one who loved Claire, she meant a lot to Michael and Eve. "You PMS-ing dude? I asked trying to lighten the mood. He scoffed.

"I'm being serious."

"I know, and I will look after her."

"Good." He turned and walked back to his room.

About 45 minutes later Claire walked out the bathroom, showered, changed and hair dried. "You took your time!" I exclaimed.

"Well, it takes time achieving this perfection!" Claire smiled. "I wanted to make sure I had scrubbed everything off. You know making sure there's no traces of silver or strange chemicals from Myrnin's lab. I'm not sure that it'll go down well with the people at the airport if I turned up with some with some ancient acid residue!" She explained.

"I didn't think about that," I replied.

"That's why I took the liberty of cleaning out your suitcase before you packed," Claire informed me. "I knew you wouldn't have done it!"

"Thanks." I stood up and walked to the bathroom but not before holding her hands, leaning my forehead against hers and pressing my lips to hers.

It was only supposed to be a small peck, but somehow it grew bigger and more passionate. I licked her lips asking for entrance and she opened her mouth. I could feel her love and excitement and I tried to show her my love for her. I had to stop myself from taking it further. She pulled away and took a deep breath. "I should go shower," I breathlessly said. She nodded and dizzyingly walked downstairs.

**Hey! Sorry that this has taken so long, this was my first week back at school and I've had a ton of homework! Hopefully from now on you should be getting at least 2 updates a week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Claire POV-**

After the dizzying kiss off Shane I stumbled downstairs, where surprisingly Eve was already up, despite the fact that she was the exact opposite of a morning person. Combined with the time, 6 o'clock, she should be a wreck, foaming at the mouth, but today she was looking presentable, capable of speech and even cooking breakfast.

"Wow! What have I done to deserve this?" I asked with only a hint of sarcasm I was genuinely shocked, as she set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me. She rolled her eyes and flipped me off. "Seriously, what's going on?" I asked. She bit her lip.

"I couldn't sleep, I mean, I wanted to spend every second I could with you before you went. I even woke up at 4 so I could have a shower!"

"Eve," I said. "We'll be back you know, just think of it as a long trip we're going on." I suggested.

"I know, anyway, did you ask him?" Eve asked.

Yes I did speak to her about my worries of Shane's wanting to come with me to Boston. So sue me. I was so worried that he was only coming because he didn't trust me that I was bursting at the seams inside. It might have sounded irrational, Eve thought so. She had told me the day before that really, I shouldn't be worried about that, in fact she said that it would be normal that I didn't trust him. It didn't make sense to me, so I had asked him.

"Yeah, he said he did trust me, he said that he was coming with me because that's his dream, he was really sweet actually." I confided in Eve. Smiling, she pulled me into a hug.

"Told you CB, you have nothing to worry about, if you did, I would deal with it, but right now, he doesn't need his ass kicking," she said fiercely, the mother hen really coming out. Eve would make a great mum one day, but with Michael it wasn't really possible. Oh God, I was worrying all over again.

"You okay Claire Bear?" Eve asked interrupting my train of thought.

"Yeah sure," I took a bite of the eggs and groaned, they were delicious. "Eve, you're wrong about one thing, you can really cook eggs!" I said whilst scoffing a massive bite of my mouth-watering breakfast. "Special recipe!" Eve said whilst winking.

Just then Shane ran down the stairs, agile, however creating the noise a group of elephants would. I rolled my eyes whereas Eve just sighed. "Quick shower," I noted.

"Well I'm already perfect!" Shane said, referring back to my earlier comment.

"And so modest!" I said, note the sarcasm. Eve just looked back between the both of us with a massive smile plastered on her face, she was happy to see us happy.

"Obviously," Shane said, he spotted the pan of eggs on the stove. "Breakfast!" I put my plate in the sink and Eve and I walked out.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs; I didn't say anything as lately she's been quite emotional. She kicked her bedroom door open with her black, tough stompy boots, but somehow still managed to look graceful. She locked her door and turned to face me. "I'm not going to be there anymore. Just be careful okay? That world out there can be dangerous, sometimes even more than Morganville; I don't want you coming home in a coffin. Okay?" She kept getting faster and faster and jumping up an octave or two. By the time she had stopped talking she was on the verge of tears. "Eve, I promise. I'll be back before you know, safe and sound, not even a scratch on me," I said in an attempt to reassure her. She smiled and said, "You better be." She unlocked her door; I walked over to her and grabbed her in a hug. Eve has supported me so much and I really appreciated that.

**Shane POV-**

_Wow! These eggs are really good!_ I thought, whilst shovelling a massive forkful into my mouth. I heard Eve coming down, I knew it was her because she was wearing her black boots and you can hear them a mile away.

"Shane, we need to talk," she said.

"Do we?" I asked, really confused, she seemed so serious and she never really was, however she had been wacky lately, always so emotional. "Yep, you better look after Claire. She may not seem like she needs looking after, but she does. You do anything to hurt her and I will break your neck! Then dance on your grave, bring you back to life again, feed you to sharks and kill you all over again!" She said, her fists clenched, joined with her Goth make up she really looked scary. I swallowed. "You know that I would never hurt her," I said, whilst I was saying that, it came from my heart, I had hurt her before, but I had vowed to myself (and Claire) that I would never harm her in any way or form again.

"You've said that before," she reminded me.

"I know, but I'm serious, we've been through a lot, but we're stronger now. I could never hurt her," I confessed in a whisper to Eve. _Wow_ I thought, _this conversation was unexpected_. I couldn't believe that I was spilling my guts to Eve. "Look after yourself as well, okay?" She asked. "Okay, but Claire's my first priority," I said.

"Good answer!" Eve said, smiling at me.

"Whatever," I said, feeling as though the conversation was way too deep!

She scoffed and walked out, I sighed, emptied my plate into the bin and ran upstairs to tell Claire that it was time to go.

**I know I said that I would update twice a week, but I'm working on it! I'm gonna update again today or if not, then definitely tomorrow. Promise.**

**REVIEW PLEASE, they encourage me to write, if you have anything you want in this story or how to improve this story then tell me in a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Claire POV-**

Shane popped his head around my door and said tentatively, "It's time." He really is nervous. It wasn't his first time that he was leaving Morganville to live; his family had run away after his sister's death. I only hoped that this time, with me, it would be a more pleasant experience for him. Before I turned around, I plastered a smile on my face, I felt so much anxiety and I didn't want Shane to mistake that for regret for going.

"Okay," I sighed, I attempted to pick up my heavy suitcase, and failed. Shane smirked, walked into the room and lifted mine. I noticed how beautiful he looked, his muscles under his skin, his face set in love and kindness. _This is the man that I have fallen in love with _I thought, and just then I counted myself lucky that he was mine. "Come on," he said and I followed him out of my room, looked back and closed the door.

It felt as though I was closing a chapter of my life, though that was ridiculous, I was going to come back, though maybe I would come back wiser, a new person. Just a thought. But one thing I could guarantee is that I would come back. This is my home.

I followed Shane down the stairs; the house seemed gloomy, dark. I felt a little bit of comfort in knowing that the house didn't want me to go. Michael and Eve were already waiting downstairs, hand in hand. I sighed, _this is gonna be hard_, I thought. Shane reached out for my hand and I took it, his warmth guiding and supporting me.

Michael moved first, he stepped forward and hugged Shane. Shane gave him a manly hug back, they slapped each others backs, Michael gave Shane a look, and Shane gave one back. "That's it?" I said in disbelief. "No tears, no words of advice. Guys," I said. Eve smiled and almost ran forward into my outstretched arms. It was a long embrace full of tears, words drowned out by sobs. Eve pulled apart first and pulled a tissue out a pocket of her black combats. "I came prepared," she said, and offered me one. They were black and had little skulls randomly dotted around them. It was so Eve.

"I'm gonna miss you CB, love you," Eve said, and the waterworks started again for the both of us.

"I'll be back, I'm gonna miss you too, I love you so much." Shane and Michael looked at each other and scoffed, Michael looked at me and said, "Keep yourself safe and come back soon, okay, we love you," he whispered.

"Love you to," I said and I hugged him, Eve was sobbing so much, Michael pulled her into his arms. She pulled out of them and walked up to Shane. "I've said this before, and I'm gonna say this again, you break her neck and I will kill you. Slowly." Shane didn't reply, he pulled her into a hug and I'm almost sure he whispered something to her. She seemed satisfied, as she didn't knee him or anything.

I held Shane's hand and we slowly walked to the door, the sun was rising so Michael stayed back. Shane put the cases in his car, he had bought one so we would have a means of transport in Boston. I slid into the passenger seat and he got into the drivers seat. He started the engine. I turned to the Glass house. He set off. I waved.

**I told you I would update! And here it is! I know it's short, but I thought it would be right to end it here. Hopefully, I shall update on Thursday, not making any promises though…**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****! Not many people are, which makes me think no-one is really reading the story:( **


	5. Chapter 5

**Claire POV-**

We didn't say a word to each other until we came to the Morganville border. Shane pulled over to the side of the road. "Why are we stopping?" I asked looking behind us, for vampires following us or some sort of emergency. Maybe the boot had magically opened and all of our luggage had fallen out, but there was nothing behind us. "Do you want to go?" Shane asked me, not looking at me. He stared forward, his fists clenching the wheel.

"Shane… why are you asking me? Of course I want to go. It's just, it's hard. That's all," I said, not understanding why I had to justify myself. "Why is it hard Claire? We're finally out of there! Or going to be," he said, clearly not understanding me.

I found it a little hard to rationalise it to myself, we were going to be out of Morganville, away from the vampires, even if it was for a couple of years but, we were getting out of there! However, I had changed from the shy timid girl I was when I entered the Glass House, the Glass House and Morganville was where I had changed, it was (as weird as this sounds), my home, I felt as though I belonged. Morganville was the place where I had become the person I was now, if I wasn't in there, the place that had shaped me, then who would I become? It was pretty deep stuff and I couldn't explain this to Shane. _Try, _a little voice in my head said.

"Shane, when I first came into the Glass House, what was your first impression of me?" I asked, in an attempt to make him understand. "What's that got to do with anything?" He muttered. He sighed then said "You were a fighter, those girls had just done all that to you, and you were determined to stay. We were similar like that, both fighters."

"What do you think of me now?" I asked, shocked at what he said, I thought he would have said something like I was a stubborn, beat up girl. "You're still a fighter," he said.

"So, I've not changed at all, I'm still the same exact person?" I asked.

"You've changed, you're more independent, stronger, and you can save the whole town. You're not as shy," Shane said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Exactly, what changed me?" I asked.

"Claire…" he said stalling.

"Shane just answer the question," I said through gritted teeth.

"Morganville, that's what changed you," Shane burst out.

"Morganville changed me, it's who I am, where most my experience comes from, it's all I know," I whispered. "If I'm not in there then, who am I?" I asked.

"You're Claire," he said, he paused, sighed, and then said "I understand."

"Thank you," I gleefully said.

He pulled onto the road then passed the border. It was as easy as that, no harm done. Years of fighting and we just exited the town with ease. It frustrated me; however I knew that if we didn't have permission, it wouldn't have been that easy.

I leaned back and in a few minutes I slipped into the magical place of dream world.

**Shane POV-**

She leaned back and fell asleep. I thought about what she had said as the bare surroundings flew by. I remembered when she first came into the Glass House. It was true what I had said, I did think she was a fighter and she still is. She's changed and she's pulled me along for the ride, I've changed too. In a good way, it's like I couldn't help myself I just had to follow her wherever she went.

I had told her that Morganville had changed her; she said that was right, was that a good thing? Morganville had killed my sister and mother, and now it had changed my girl. I was so confused. I shook it away from my head and focused on the road.

We had arrived at the airport; I leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Claire's forehead to wake her up for the second time today. "Wake up honey. We're here." She opened her eyes and stretched. Before she could open her door, I got out and opened it for her. She got out and smiled at my gentlemanly manners. "Thank you, I've got my very own chauffer service!" She exclaimed.

I grinned my famous Collins grin and closed the door. I walked round to the boot of the car and hauled the luggage out. "Need any help?" Claire asked biting her lip. She was stood in the hot Texas sun looking at me. I understood, she felt useless."Nope," I said popping the p.

We walked into the airport to the main desk handed our paperwork over and sent our luggage through. We went through security and before I knew it, we were sitting on the plane ready for takeoff.

"I've got a confession to make," Claire said looking queasy.

"What?" I wearily asked.

"I'm afraid of flying," she confessed.

"I've got a confession to make to," I said.

"What?" She asked.

"I've never been on an aeroplane." I admitted.

I held her hand as the pilot announced that we were taking off. I smiled, Morganville was behind us. At least for now it was.

**Sorry this wasn't posted yesterday, I had a family emergency. I promise to post another chapter on Thursday. See you soon!**

**REVIEW**


	6. Chapter 6

**Claire POV-**

Standing outside the airport Shane and I climbed into the back of a taxi. We told the driver the address after I had dug into my pocket for the piece of paper I had noted he address down. Amelie had told us that she would pay for our accommodation, she insisted, I sat back with Shane's loving arms around me and thought back.

_I walked into the kitchen after coming back from college. I threw my backpack into a chair and sunk down into the chair next to my bag. I leaned my head back. I was so tired; trying to look for an apartment in a major city with a limited budget is stressful. Believe me._

_Hearing the door slam shut and Eve calling out if anyone was home, I replied "I'm in the kitchen!" In all her Goth glory Eve came in with a pile of letters from the mailbox. She shuffled through them and made a pile for Michael and Shane. "There's one here for you, oh…" She trailed off and looked at the letter. "What is it?" I asked, whilst jumping up and grabbing the letter._

_It was a thick, heavy envelope. Cream and it had an old-fashioned wax seal on the back. I recognised it immediately, it was from Amelie. "I should open it shouldn't I? I asked Eve. I didn't want to think of all the possibilities why Amelie had sent me a letter. Maybe she had changed her mind and Shane and I weren't allowed to leave Morganville. Maybe Myrnin had asked for me not to leave Morganville. As unlikely as it seemed I still worried._

"_Yeah, it could be really important. Probably is." I just noticed that Eve had sat down and was biting her nails. My stomach flipped, what was the letter about? "Can you open it"? I asked her. She wasted no time! She grabbed it immediately and tore it open. Her eyes scanned the paper and she bit her lip. "What's it about?" I asked. She glanced at me then back to the paper. "I- I don't know." She said, looking utterly confused._

_I frowned and took the letter off her. '_**A meeting has been organised with the Founder for 4:30pm. It is compulsory to attend.**_' That's it, nothing more, nothing less. I frowned again. "Should I tell Shane?" I asked, seeking advice from my best friend._

"_I don't know," she said for the second time. "He might freak and go overboard," I could imagine that. As much as I told him not to be, Shane was very protective of me. "Then again, you might need back up."_

"_Back up? Eve it's a meeting! I'm not charging into war!" I said._

"_Remember, Claire. Morganville is a war zone, and people we know and love have been hurt," Eve said and walked out._

_I felt guilty, so many people had been hurt, people on their own would beg for someone to protect them. However, here I was scoffing at the idea. Shane's sister and mother had died. Eve's brother had turned, physically and mentally. He was a vampire now lurking in the shadows; Morganville had done that to him. Abused at a young age, it's not good for anyone. _

_I stood up and walked out to follow Eve, by the time I had walked in she was on the sofa and the TV was on. "Eve, I'm sorry. Compromise, why don't you be my back up and we'll leave a note for Shane. He won't be able to do anything once we've gone, and if we need him a quick call will do the trick."_

"_Oh Claire Bear, you don't need to apologise. I just worry about you." She captured me in a hug. I pulled back and said to her that we should get going. She agreed and we walked into the kitchen, reached into the cabinet and pulled out a ready-prepared vampire fighting kit._

_Before I knew it I was standing outside Amelie's office, I knocked and I heard a strong, feminine voice telling me to enter. Eve waited outside in one of the soft plush chairs. "Take a seat Claire," Amelie ordered. I sat. "When you depart from Morganville, where would you be staying?" She asked. "I don't know. I've been looking," I didn't want to tell her that we couldn't afford all the decent apartments. "Claire, you have done a lot for this town. I want to repay you." She said._

"_Amelie, you don't have to," I said, cautious of what her idea of repaying me would be._

"_I do Claire," she reached into a draw on her desk and retrieved an envelope. She handed it to and instructed me to open it. It was another heavy cream, envelope, this time instead of ripping it open I gently opened it. Inside was a black shiny debit card. I took it out and frowned at it. "Amelie…" I said._

"_No arguments, there is a substantial amount on their, but not too much to cause alarm. Every month a small sum of money will be given to that account. You can use that card in every country. Guaranteed." She explained._

"_Thank you," I said, though I was a bit unsure of what Shane would think, he didn't like to owe the vampires. There was also a thick piece of paper in the envelope. I pulled it out and studied the address written on it in a flawless, timeless handwriting._

"_It's for a small apartment situated 10 minutes away from your school. I have paid the first two months of rent." Amelie explained. I was speechless. This was the only problem I had about moving and now…_

"_Thank you," I managed to say._

"_You're welcome Claire, now I have a meeting to attend so I will have to ask you to leave."_

"_Oh, of course," I said, whilst jumping up, shoving the card and paper back into the envelope and heading to the door._

_Outside Eve immediately sat up and asked about what Amelie wanted. I explained and Eve said "Wow, she does have a heart!"_

I was thinking about what sort of apartment it was, I would have looked it up but over the past few weeks I had been really busy. At least I had an apartment, and we didn't have to worry about rent for two months and we had the card. I had checked the balance and there was $3000 on there! We could live of that for months, maybe even a year!

The taxi stopped outside a modern, stunning building. We handed him the money and got out. "Shane?"

"S'up?"

"Is this it?" I asked, totally stunned, this building looked really big and posh. He checked the address on the paper and the street name. "Yeah," he said. "How on earth are we gonna be able to afford this?" He asked, to be honest that was a reasonable question, how much was the rent?

"Let's just get in and see what it's like, for all we know the apartment might be small, really small," I suggested. We walked in and the ground floor was… amazing. No other word for it. It was massive. There was a large electric fireplace on our right with a comfortable couch area surrounding it. On the wall in front of us there were the lockers for the mail. On our left was your average block of stairs, but they were carpeted with an amazing soft carpet. There was a lift right next to it. I took a deep breath taking in our surroundings. It was like a 5 star hotel lobby!

Shane also took a deep breath and walked to the lift, I followed him thinking if this was the lobby, what was our apartment going to look like? Our flat was on the 6th floor, _good_ I thought, _not too far up_.

Stepping out of the lift I noticed there were only two doors on the floor. One to the left and one to the right. Shane once again consulted the paper and led me to the left door. He took the key out of his back pocket and unlocked it.

I gasped; in front of us was a large living area, it comprised of neutral colours; there were two 4 seat sofas around what looked like a 50 inch TV! _This is too good to be true_, I thought. Further ahead was a kitchenette, it was sleek and modern, already equipped with fancy gadgets and china dishes.

I didn't even want to know what the bedrooms looked like, and neither did Shane apparently because we both collapsed on the sofa. "I'm really in the mood for some home cooking." I said. Shane laughed.

"Chilli?" He asked.

"Of course!" I replied.

"Then we need to go grocery shopping, come on!" He said, dragging me up.

**So sorry, I know I haven't updated in a while, but here is a new chapter. It's longer than any of the other! Review! Tell me what you want! The first 3 people to review get a sneak preview to the next chapter! **


	7. Chapter 7

**There's an AN at the bottom, it's important, so make sure you read!**

**Shane POV-**

The apartment was amazing; no doubt about it, the only thing that ticked me off was that it was the vamps that had got it for us. It was like another way to take control of us. I had told Claire this, but she had shrugged me off.

_I had gotten home from work to an empty house, _great_ I thought. I could relax before everyone came home. Even better I could play some video games! As I walked into the main room, there was a note sat on the couch. It was addressed to me and it looked like Claire had written it. I opened it up and it said: _**'Amelie has called me for a meeting. No, I don't know what it's about. Might be something good!'**_ Yeah right, the vamps have never delivered good news to us! I went under the sink and grabbed an un-dead fighting bag. If my girl was in trouble I needed to help her. _

_Then I noticed that there were two bags gone. So Claire had taken one, who had taken the other? Michael didn't need one so it must've been Eve. Smart taking backup and stuff for an emergency. They would have taken Eve's car so I was going to have to walk, no I would run._

_As soon as I had stepped out of the door, Eve's hearse pulled up, Claire jumped out with a smile plastered on her face, so maybe it was something good. Eve got out and bit her lip as if she wanted to stop words coming out, she, also, was smiling. Claire jumped and hugged me; I wrapped my arms around her. "I thought you went to see Amelie?" I asked. I was a bit confused; there had never been a time when Claire was ecstatic after seeing the head bloodsucker._

_She pulled back and said "I did, come on inside and I'll explain!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. I followed now really confused, what was going on? She dragged me all the way in and gently shoved me on the couch._

"_So, Amelie gave me this," she said, throwing a posh, heavy envelope at me. I opened it; there were two things inside, first I pulled out the paper. All it had was an address on it in an old-fashioned ink. I looked up at Claire and raised my eyebrows in –again- utter confusion. "It's an apartment that Amelie has rented for us!" She said, what? The bloodsucker had rented an apartment for us? Why? _There could only be one reason_, a voice in me said. It was a part of me that I usually never let out, the Frank Collins part of me. _They're trying to keep control of you, refuse_. I was tempted to listen to it, but I knew that it was wrong, there had to be another reason. _

"_Why?" I asked, perhaps Claire could tell me why._

"_A thank you. For all that I've done, it's nice to have some appreciation!" She teased. I ignored it though. I smirked, and I just knew that to Claire it would look cruel. "You really think she's thanking us?" I snarled, yeah, I know I was a total jerk, but I didn't know how else to say it. Claire immediately lost her smile. "What else could it be Shane? And you better think very carefully about what you say." She said, taking control of the situation, but I couldn't let this drop. "She's trying to control us, even when we're not in this goddamn town!" I shouted._

"_Oi!" Eve stepped in. "Think about who you're talking to, what you're saying and how you're saying it!" Eve warned me, counting her warnings on her fingers. I took a deep breath, realised that I had stood up and sat back down again. "I'm sorry," I said, "I shouldn't have screamed like that._

"_It's okay, you're allowed an opinion, but I don't understand, how can she control us? All she's done is picked out an apartment." Claire said, her tone was gentle and soothing._

"_I know, I over reacted," I said, I felt like a little kid apologising. Eve gave Claire a strange look, but Claire ignored her. What was that about?_

We had gone grocery shopping, it may not sound like a big deal, but it was, we were doing normal things, stuff young couples who had just moved in together would do. It was a big deal to me and I'm sure it was to Claire to.

We were in the middle of some random aisle, when Claire grinned. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing, just, it seems so weird, doing stuff that's normal." So she did understand.

"I know, but it also feels right," I said, then I leaned in and captured Claire's lips. The kiss was warm and felt so right. Our lips glided over each others and I captured her bottom lip in mine, she groaned, which stirred up a few things down there… My tongue entered her mouth and we battled for dominance, I just couldn't stop, my hands slid up and down over her waist and hers were wrapped around my neck and her fists were clenched in my hair. She pulled back and bit her bottom lip longingly, I kissed her throat and whispered in her ear, "Let's finish the shopping and get back to the flat," she nodded and we both rushed the grocery shopping. When we got back to the flat, let's just say we officially christened the bed.

**Claire POV-**

The next morning I woke up first. I opened my eyes and saw Shane lying next to me, he looked blissful and at peace. I gently smiled and slipped out of the luxurious bed, we were lucky, not many people got to escape Morganville, (even if it was only for a few years) ,and live like this.

When I had told Shane about Amelie he didn't like the idea. So I didn't tell him about her paying the first two months of rent. Or the card. I know that he would find out, but I thought it would be better until we had left, so we he couldn't track Amelie down and do God knows what to her.

I opened the bathroom door and was shocked at what I saw. It was… No words would ever justify its magnificence. The amazing bathroom is what every girl wants. The room itself was about three quarters of my bedroom in Morganville, which was huge. I was stunning white with a corner shower and a deep circular bathtub; it looked like it had jets!

I shook my head in amazement and shock and walked to the shower. The marble slabs that made the floor felt so smooth, wait marble. Again I wondered how much the rent was on this place, I suddenly felt as though we wouldn't be living here long if we couldn't afford the rent, and there are also all of the bills.

I pushed the thought to the back of my head and stepped into the shower. I thought back to a conversation me and Eve had.

_After Shane and mine's mini argument, I was sitting upstairs in Eve's room. She was painting my nails for me an electric blue colour. "So," she said. "Why didn't you tell Shane?"_

"_Tell Shane what?" I asked, acting oblivious._

"_You know what, the rent money and the card!" She whisper-shouted._

"_He knows about the card. I think. He saw it in the envelope, but he took the paper out first and did a Hulk." I tried to defend myself._

"_He's probably forgotten, you should tell him," she advised._

"_No, he'll just blow up about it," I gave her a desperate look begging her to understand._

"_I won't tell him, but I really disagree with this," she told me._

When I got out of the shower I put on my new galaxy leggings Eve had given me and a plain black tank top. Today Shane and I were just going to be unpacking and settling in so I wanted to be as comfortable as possible. I slid my feet over the heated floors to the lavish kitchen. I decided to fry some bacon for breakfast with some fried eggs. As soon as I finished Shane walked in with wet hair, black jeans and a tight fitting white t-shirt.

I had just plated up breakfast when the door knocked, I glanced at Shane and he shrugged. We weren't expecting anyone. I went to the door and opened it a slice, out of the corner of my eye I saw Shane walk over to me and stand next to me.

At the door was pretty blonde, with vivid blue eyes. Happy looking and a gorgeous smile on her face, she stood at about 5 feet 10! She looked about 19, with her hair nearly reaching her waist, it was thick and curled.

She handed me a wrapped present and I looked down in surprise. "Hi! I live across the hall!" she paused and glanced at Shane. "Shane?" she asked. I was shocked, they knew each other? No, she must have mistaken him for a different Shane, not mine, she wasn't from Morganville, but then I saw recognition on his face…

**Oooooh! Who do you think the girl is? Take a guess and leave a review, if anyone gets it right they get a sneak preview to chapter 8! Also, the first two people to review get a sneak preview as well!**

**Also I have a poll on my profile about whether or not this story should have a happily ever after. I haven't planned an ending but I can go either way! Your opinion counts. VOTE!**

**REVIEW! VOTE!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Claire POV-**

Maybe they're just friends, but I had never seen Shane just friends with a pretty girl. Kim definitely didn't count because she was a psychopath and his ex. I had no idea who this girl was, but the look on Shane's face was despair, he looked like he was in pain. I frowned in confusion, then realised I had been holding in my breath. Taking a long deep but shaky breath, I asked the girl her name. "Olivia," she said looking to the ground.

"I'm Claire by the way," I told her. She swallowed, then mumbled an excuse about work and turned and jogged down the stairs.

I stepped away from the door before Shane hit it shut with the palm of his hand. He walked to the couch and sat down, his actions resembling that of a robot. Shane sat on the edge of the sofa, knees apart, elbows on his knees and his head resting in his hands. His body trembled, whether from shock or sobbing, I wasn't sure. He was so affected by this girl that I dropped any feelings, that I may had had, of jealousy or envy, and sat by him rubbing a gentle hand over his back.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked him, unsure of what to do and/or say.

"My past has finally caught up with me," he told me.

"Shane what does that mean? Talk to me, please," begged him. He sat up and clenched his fists, rubbing them up and down on his leg, that wasn't a good sign. Why was he angry? "She was her friend, her best friend," he said, still speaking in riddles.

"Who's best friend?" I asked, then I realised. "Alyssa's?" I asked in disbelief. "No, I mean that girl looked about 19!" I said.

"Lyss'," he confirmed. "She's always looked a little older than everyone else her age, her and Lyss were like that," he said, crossing his index and middle finger.

"How is she out?" I asked, wanting to know more.

"I don't know, I haven't got a clue," he confessed. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. I reached forward had encircled him in a soothing embrace. He rested his forehead on my shoulder and murmured, "It just caught me of guard," trying to act the man. "No need to explain to me," I softly said. We stayed together like that for about 10 minutes then Shane lifted himself up and had a guilty expression on his face.

"I need to tell you, it's the right thing to tell you," he said, back to speaking in riddles. I lifted my eyebrows, encouraging him to carry on. "Olivia had a crush on me," I smiled in relief. "I thought you were about to confess to murder with that guilty look on your face!" I said. Shane smiled back at me, "So you're not upset or angry, or something?" He asked.

"No… should I be?"

"Nope," he said grinning.

"Let's go eat breakfast then!" I exclaimed, I pulled him up by his hand and dragged him to the breakfast bar. I hopped onto a stool and he sat opposite me. Pushing his plate to him I said, "It's probably cold."

"Oh well," he said and shovelled a massive forkful. "Good, but not as tasty as Eve's," he critiqued.

"I know, for a person who can't cook, she makes pretty darn good eggs!" I said, trying to direct the conversation away from Olivia.

After breakfast we spent the day unpacking, whilst dancing to music on the radio. It was blissful and peaceful. Just the way I like it.

**I know I haven't upgraded for ages but I do have an excuse! It's exam season at school! And I've had a family member in hospital seriously ill after a heart attack. Anyway this is just a short chapter, it ended on a happy note but who know what's going to happen next!**

**Also the first two people to review get a sneak preview to chapter 9! REVIEW!**

**One last thing! Rachel Caine has teamed up and there's going to be a Morganville web TV series! It will be on the internet, she's starting off small, six 10 minute episodes in September I think. She's trying to raise the money to do this; if you donate you get a reward depending on the amount! The rewards range from personal twitter shootouts to personally signed books and exclusive signed posters. There is a link on her website, check it out! Even if you donate $5 it's something!**


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